Cityscape catches up with CoLab Architecture’s Blair Paterson and Tobin Smith on the latest in passive heating and cooling designs.
We Kiwis are naturally outdoorsy people. We love to spend our days sitting in the sun, socialising outdoors and impressing friends with our BBQ skills. Unlike our Aussie neighbours, we seldom reach for the air-con remote to cool our houses, instead opening windows and doors to create a cross breeze. However, our climate – particularly here in the South – doesn’t always cooperate. Warm days are often compromised by gusty winds attacking us from all directions. There are a number of simple fundamental principles that we consider when designing a new house to not only aid in functionality, but also comfort and energy efficiency.
Designing for the sun is imperative. Orientating the house and positioning glazing towards the north and west helps capture heat throughout the day that, when paired with...

With Christchurch in full rebuild mode, Cityscape caught up with CoLab Architecture’s Blair Paterson and Tobin Smith for the lowdown on the finer points of creating timeless architecture.
It’s fair to say that the dust has now settled in Christchurch and the city rebuild is well and truly underway. As the city transitions from demolition to reconstruction, the urgency to get projects moving forward presents a new challenge for architects and designers. People are understandably eager to get back into their homes and start using the city again; however, this eagerness can bring about shotgun decisions that often result in less than appealing architecture.
Christchurch has always been celebrated for its strong architectural language, from the historic Gothic structures of Benjamin Mountfort to the slick modernist forms of Sir Miles Warren. All of this history has shaped what is known as ‘the Christchurch style’, and although a lot of these examples have been lost, certain principles can be adopted to create a...